Of the many names that could be on the move this offseason, some wonder if the Calgary Flames might be willing to pawn off one of its top blueliners.
General manager Craig Conroy has a decision to make on Rasmus Andersson, a 28-year-old defenseman who is heading into the final season of his six-year contract that he signed with the team when Brad Treliving was in charge in January 2020.
There’s no question Andersson is a solid blueliner, though he had rather down 2024-25 season compared to years past. He will be a solid player if the Flames keep him around, but there’s an avenue for the team to potentially trade him before the 2025 NHL Draft.
Andersson’s deal has an AAV of $4.55 million, but has a modified no-trade clause where he has to submit a six-team no-trade list on July 1.
On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the possibility of Andersson being moved before the end of the month.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Let me ask you about the idea of Rasmus Anderson being traded by the draft. Is that smoke, fire, or false alarm?
Frank Seravalli: I think it is smoke. I think the Calgary Flames are in a spot where they are open to lots of different things. I think they realize that Rasmus Andersson, for the long haul, is probably going to be too expensive and too long-term for their liking. I think when you consider the season that he had…really kind of average by his own standards. I’m wondering if the best play here is if you’re not getting exactly what you’re looking for, just hang on to him. Trade him at the deadline. I don’t think his value is going to be any better to the Calgary Flames now than it will be if he has an excellent start to the season. He is the IT guy when it comes to the playoffs. Right-shot guy, consistent, or certainly has the capability to be a consistent, double-digit goal scorer from the back end.
I don’t think his value at all is going to go down if you decide to hang on to him. I think there’s a chance to even have a better start to the year and get more from him and also put your team in a position to succeed. But go into the season knowing that whether you’re in the playoffs or not, or if you’re on the cusp, that either way you’re trading him and you’re not going to get lost on the idea that, ‘Oh man, what if we use him to sneak into the playoffs this year as an own rental?’ That doesn’t work. So, as long as you know that that’s the plan going in and you stick with it, then I think that’s perhaps provided that you don’t get exactly what you’re looking for, the best course of action.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…
